Chapter 10: Project Communications Management

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Chapter 10Project Communications Management
Information Technology Project Management,Fourth
Edition
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Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of good communications
  in projects.
• Explain the elements of project communications
  planning, including how to create a
  communications management plan and perform a
  stakeholder communications analysis.
• Describe various methods for distributing project
  information and the advantages and disadvantages
  of each, discuss the importance of addressing
  individual communication needs, and calculate the
  number of communications channels in a project.

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Learning Objectives (contd)

• Understand how the main outputs of performance
  reporting help stakeholders stay informed about
  project resources.
• Recognize the importance of good communications
  management for stakeholder relationships and for
  resolving issues.
• List various methods for improving project
  communications, such as managing conflicts,
  running effective meetings, using e-mail and
  other technologies effectively, and using
  templates.
• Describe how software can enhance project
  communications management.

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Importance of Good Communications

• The greatest threat to many projects is a failure
  to communicate.
• Our culture does not portray IT professionals as
  being good communicators.
• Research shows that IT professionals must be able
  to communicate effectively to succeed in their
  positions.
• Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career
  advancement for IT professionals.

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Project CommunicationsManagement Processes

• Communications planning Determining the
  information and communications needs of the
  stakeholders.
• Information distribution Making needed
  information available to project stakeholders in
  a timely manner.
• Performance reporting Collecting and
  disseminating performance information, including
  status reports, progress measurement, and
  forecasting.
• Managing stakeholders Managing communications to
  satisfy the needs and expectations of project
  stakeholders and to resolve issues.

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Communications Planning

• Every project should include some type of
  communications management plan, a document that
  guides project communications.
• Creating a stakeholder analysis for project
  communications also aids in communications
  planning.

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Communications ManagementPlan Contents

• Stakeholder communications requirements.
• Information to be communicated, including format,
  content, and level of detail.
• The people who will receive the information and
  who will produce it.
• Suggested methods or technologies for conveying
  the information.

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Communications ManagementPlan Contents (contd)

• Frequency of communication.
• Escalation procedures for resolving issues.
• Revision procedures for updating the
  communications management plan.
• A glossary of common terminology.

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Table 10-1. Sample Stakeholder Analysis for
Project Communications
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Information Distribution

• Getting the right information to the right people
  at the right time and in a useful format is just
  as important as developing the information in the
  first place.
• Important considerations include
• Using technology to enhance information
  distribution.
• Formal and informal methods for distributing
  information.

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What Went Wrong?
A well-publicized example of misuse of e-mail
comes from the 1998 Justice Department's high
profile, antitrust suit against Microsoft. E-mail
emerged as a star witness in the case. Many
executives sent messages that should never have
been put in writing. The court used e-mail as
evidence, even though the senders of the notes
said the information was being interpreted out of
context. See the example that describes the
misunderstanding of the phrase pedagogical
approach on page 392. Harmon, Amy, E-mail
Comes Back to Haunt Companies, Minneapolis Star
Tribune (from the New York Times) (November 29,
1998).
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Distributing Information in an Effective and
Timely Manner

• Dont bury crucial information.
• Dont be afraid to report bad information.
• Oral communication via meetings and informal
  talks helps bring important informationgood and
  badout into the open.

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Importance of Face-to-Face Communication

• Research says that in a face-to-face interaction
• 58 percent of communication is through body
  language.
• 35 percent of communication is through how the
  words are said.
• 7 percent of communication is through the content
  or words that are spoken.
• Pay attention to more than just the actual words
  someone is saying.
• A persons tone of voice and body language say a
  lot about how he or she really feels.

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Encouraging More Face-to-Face Interactions

• Short, frequent meetings are often very effective
  in IT projects.
• Stand-up meetings force people to focus on what
  they really need to communicate.
• Some companies have policies preventing the use
  of e-mail between certain hours or even entire
  days of the week.

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Table 10-2. Media Choice Table
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Media Snapshot

• Live video is a modern medium for sending
  information.
• Microsoft says that one in every five
  face-to-face meetings can be replaced with Web
  conferencing tools, and they estimate it will
  save 70 million in reduced travel in one year
  alone.
• The medium can backfire, as in the case with the
  Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction during the
  2004 Super Bowl half-time show.

Lohr, Steve, Ambitious Package to Raise
Productivity (and Microsofts Profit), The New
York Times (August 16, 2004).
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Understanding Group and Individual Communication
Needs

• People are not interchangeable parts.
• As illustrated in Brooks book The Mythical
  Man-Month, you cannot assume that a task
  originally scheduled to take two months of one
  persons time can be done in one month by two
  people.
• Nine women cannot produce a baby in one month!

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Personal Preferences Affect Communication Needs

• Introverts like more private communications,
  while extroverts like to discuss things in
  public.
• Intuitive people like to understand the big
  picture, while sensing people need step-by-step
  details.
• Thinkers want to know the logic behind decisions,
  while feeling people want to know how something
  affects them personally.
• Judging people are driven to meet deadlines while
  perceiving people need more help in developing
  and following plans.

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Other Communication Considerations

• Rarely does the receiver interpret a message
  exactly as the sender intended.
• Geographic location and cultural background
  affect the complexity of project communications.
• Different working hours
• Language barriers
• Different cultural norms

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Setting the Stage for Communicating Bad News
Dear Mom and Dad, or should I say Grandma
Grandpa, Yes, I am pregnant. No, Im not married
yet since Larry, my boyfriend, is out of a job.
Larrys employers just dont seem to appreciate
the skills he has learned since he quit high
school. Larry looks much younger than you, Dad,
even though he is three years older. Im quitting
college and getting a job so we can get an
apartment before the baby is born. I found a
beautiful apartment above a 24-hour auto repair
garage with good insulation so the exhaust fumes
and noise wont bother us. Im very happy. I
thought you would be too. Love, Ashley P.S.
There is no Larry. Im not pregnant. Im not
getting married. Im not quitting school, but I
am getting a D in Chemistry. I just wanted you
to have some perspective.
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Determining the Number of Communications Channels

• As the number of people involved increases, the
  complexity of communications increases because
  there are more communications channels or
  pathways through which people can communicate.
• Number of communications channels n(n-1)
• 2 where n is the number of
  people involved.

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Figure 10-1. The Impact of the Number of People
on Communications Channels
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Performance Reporting

• Performance reporting keeps stakeholders informed
  about how resources are being used to achieve
  project objectives.
• Status reports describe where the project stands
  at a specific point in time.
• Progress reports describe what the project team
  has accomplished during a certain period of time.
• Forecasts predict future project status and
  progress based on past information and trends.

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Managing Stakeholders

• Project managers must understand and work with
  various stakeholders.
• Need to devise a way to identify and resolve
  issues.
• Two important tools include
• Expectations management matrix
• Issue log

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Table 10-3. Expectations Management Matrix
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Table 10-4. Issue Log
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Suggestions for Improving Project Communications

• Manage conflicts effectively.
• Develop better communication skills.
• Run effective meetings.
• Use e-mail effectively.
• Use templates for project communications.

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Conflict Handling Modes

• Confrontation Directly face a conflict using a
  problem-solving approach.
• Compromise Use a give-and-take approach.
• Smoothing De-emphasize areas of difference and
  emphasize areas of agreement.
• Forcing The win-lose approach.
• Withdrawal Retreat or withdraw from an actual or
  potential disagreement.

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Conflict Can Be Good

• Conflict often produces important results, such
  as new ideas, better alternatives, and motivation
  to work harder and more collaboratively.
• Groupthink Conformance to the values or ethical
  standards of a group. Groupthink can develop if
  there are no conflicting viewpoints.
• Research suggests that task-related conflict
  often improves team performance, but emotional
  conflict often depresses team performance.

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Developing Better Communication Skills

• Companies and formal degree programs for IT
  professionals often neglect the importance of
  speaking, writing, and listening skills.
• As organizations become more global, they realize
  they must invest in ways to improve communication
  with people from different countries and
  cultures.
• It takes leadership to improve communication.

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Running Effective Meetings

• Determine if a meeting can be avoided.
• Define the purpose and intended outcome of the
  meeting.
• Determine who should attend the meeting.
• Provide an agenda to participants before the
  meeting.
• Prepare handouts and visual aids, and make
  logistical arrangements ahead of time.
• Run the meeting professionally.
• Build relationships.

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Using E-Mail Effectively

• Make sure that e-mail is an appropriate medium
  for what you want to communicate.
• Be sure to send the e-mail to the right people.
• Use meaningful subject lines.
• Limit the content to one main subject, and be as
  clear and concise as possible.

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Using E-Mail Effectively (contd)

• Limit the number and size of attachments.
• Delete e-mail you dont need, and dont open
  e-mail if you question the source.
• Make sure your virus software is current.
• Respond to and file e-mails quickly.
• Learn how to use important features.

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Using Templates for Project Communications

• Many technical people are afraid to ask for help.
• Providing examples and templates for project
  communications saves time and money.
• Organizations can develop their own templates,
  use some provided by outside organizations, or
  use samples from textbooks.
• Recall that research shows that companies that
  excel in project management make effective use of
  templates.

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Figure 10-2. Sample Template for a Project
Description
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Table 10-5. Sample Template for a Monthly
Progress Report
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Table 10-6. Final ProjectDocumentation Items
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Lessons Learned Reports

• The project manager and project team members
  should each prepare a lessons-learned report.
• A reflective statement that documents important
  things an individual learned from working on the
  project.
• The project manager often combines information
  from all of the lessons-learned reports into a
  project summary report.
• See template and sample in Chapter 3.

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Project Web Sites

• Many project teams create a project Web site to
  store important product documents and other
  information.
• Can create the site using various types of
  software.

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Figure 10-3. Sample Project Web Site
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Developing a Communications Infrastructure

• A communications infrastructure is a set of
  tools, techniques, and principles that provide a
  foundation for the effective transfer of
  information.
• Tools include e-mail, project management
  software, groupware, fax machines, telephones,
  teleconferencing systems, document management
  systems, and word processors.
• Techniques include reporting guidelines and
  templates, meeting ground rules and procedures,
  decision-making processes, problem-solving
  approaches, and conflict resolution and
  negotiation techniques.
• Principles include using open dialog and an
  agreed upon work ethic.

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Using Software to Assist in Project Communications

• There are many software tools to aid in project
  communications.
• Today more than 37 percent of people telecommute
  or work remotely at least part-time.
• Project management software includes new
  capabilities to enhance virtual communications.
• New tools, such as instant messaging and blogs,
  can enhance project communications.

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Chapter Summary

• The goal of project communications management is
  to ensure timely and appropriate generation,
  collection, dissemination, storage, and
  disposition of project information.
• Main process include
• Communications planning
• Information distribution
• Performance reporting
• Managing stakeholders